David Roberts/For Bluffton Today Camilo Guzman and CJ Johnson hope to change the art of Hip-Hop in the South.

When asked what Camilo Guzman, Colin Czerwinski, CJ Johnson and Derrick Weatherford have in common, the answer is simple: Music.

All four teenagers share a devout love for music that they wish to bring to the Lowcountry. Although each member of this fledgling group have different backgrounds and draws inspiration from different places, they all collaborated to produce a unique blend of hip hop.

The group, known as “Broccoli Island,” released its first single entitled “Cecilia” this past Friday along with a music video for the song the following day. Described as a “bittersweet” meaning, the song is meant to represent the struggles of life. “My part in the song is mainly about how life is not always what you expect it to be,” said Derrick Weatherford who wrote the chorus of “Cecilia” while in church. “We want to speak to people in a way they can relate to.”

Taking almost a full year to complete, the song was a product of Colin Czerwinski messing around on his guitar during his free time. Once Czerwinski came up with the riff, Camilo Guzman immediately made a beat out of it, but because he never felt he could write the right thing to go with the beat, Guzman saved the beat for another time.

“We’re perfectionists,” Czerwinski said. “If we finish something and it’s not up to par, it’s not going to be released. I’m the same way with my band.” Czerwinski is also lead guitarist in a local band called “Big Awesome” who has just released its second EP “Birdfeeder.”

Nearly seven months after the production of the beat, CJ Johnson decided to take Guzman up on a previous offer he had made to work with him. Johnson took a direct interest in the beat that Czerwinski and Guzman had composed. “I heard the beat and instantly I was very interested — it had like a mellow tone about it,” Johnson said. “So I said, ‘let’s do it,’ and we started writing to it.” Johnson and Guzman took an entire night to write the words to the beat but both agreed that something was missing.

Claiming exhaustion, Johnson decided he had done enough for the night and decided to head over to a friend’s house to relax. When Johnson’s friend, Braden Putich, told him he had a cousin that could sing, Johnson found it to be improbable that he could be the missing link to the song. However, once he heard Putich’s cousin, Derrick Weatherford, sing, he knew that he had found what the song needed. Instantaneously, Johnson picked up the phone to call Guzman and tell him that he had found their singer.

“After that, the ball started rolling,” said Johnson of Weatherford’s audition. “We were thinking that we had something big on our hands, so we might as well try our best to promote it.”

Once the song was finished, the guys of Broccoli Island set out to film a music video to go with it. Taking advantage of what the Lowcountry had to offer, they decided to film the video by the May River in Bluffton and on Pinckney Island.

“The Lowcountry is a unique place,” said Guzman while appreciating his surroundings. “We live in one of the prettiest places you can live in.”

“We’re incredibly fortunate to have this place for scenery. I mean, you can go anywhere and film a video — it’s beautiful,” remarked Weatherford who is a front man in a band called “This Wild Earth” based in Kankakee, Ill. While the name “Broccoli Island” pays homage to the vegetation and greenery seen around the Bluffton/Hilton Head area, the title of the song is derived from the Patron Saint of Musicians, “Saint Cecilia.”

Though the inspirations range from Common to Radiohead to Immortal Technique, every member shares a commonality with another member because they are each inspired by the art of music.

“I don’t think I can go a day without doing something musically,” said Guzman of his love of the art. “Music is an extension of the soul.”

The group’s mission is an attainable one: “We want to set a trend — at least in the Bluffton/Hilton Head area,” said Johnson. “We are all people with different backgrounds, but we came with a common purpose. You can make music without cursing and without derogatory words toward women. We want to make music; we don’t want to make rap over a beat.”